[Sidehaas]

Hello all ... more phone questions, looking at getting SIM free from this place: http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk/contract-mobile-phones/sony-xperia-z5-compact#about-the-phone

Anyone else used the site? Seems fairly reputable, like Paul I'm slightly reluctant to get a phone from ebay.

I've used them a couple of times, they were fine.

[bigironhorse]

Can anyone recommend somewhere to get my phone screen repaired in Sheffield? Preferably cheap as chips

[TobyD]

cheers all for the (mostly Sony) recommendations. Went for the cheapskate option of Motorola Moto G in the end, on a couple of recommendations; hopefully it'll do the job OK.

[petejh]

Thought this was worth posting for anyone considering a SIM-only pay monthly deal.

Was just looking online at my virgin mobile bill (pay monthly, SIM-only) and checking what other tariffs were available to me online via my virgin account page... nothing any better than what I had: 250 minutes, 1gb data, unlimited texts, £10 per month.

Then I checked the Virgin Mobile webpage for new SIM-only tariffs... For £10 per month they offer 2500 minutes, 1gb, unlimited texts.

So I tried purchasing this, but the only catch was I'd have to get a new number - didn't want to do that 'cos of work, lots of clients etc.

Called customer services and said I wanted to switch my current SIM-only tariff to the one offered for 'new' SIM-only accounts, but I wanted to keep my current number. 'No problem'. Done in 5 minutes over the phone. But it isn't offered anywhere online as an option.

So.. I just went from paying a tenner a month for 250 minutes/1gb data/unlimited texts; to paying a tenner a month for 2500 minutes/1gb data/unlimited texts.

For a iphone I paid £200 for 2.5 years ago. 

[jwi]

Broke my screen (Samsung note II) for the second time... so I'm hunting a new phone. Spec-wise Oneplus X seems hard to beat for the price... €270 in France. Any experiences?

[dave]

Thought this was worth posting for anyone considering a SIM-only pay monthly deal.

Was just looking online at my virgin mobile bill (pay monthly, SIM-only) and checking what other tariffs were available to me online via my virgin account page... nothing any better than what I had: 250 minutes, 1gb data, unlimited texts, £10 per month.

Then I checked the Virgin Mobile webpage for new SIM-only tariffs... For £10 per month they offer 2500 minutes, 1gb, unlimited texts.

So I tried purchasing this, but the only catch was I'd have to get a new number - didn't want to do that 'cos of work, lots of clients etc.

Called customer services and said I wanted to switch my current SIM-only tariff to the one offered for 'new' SIM-only accounts, but I wanted to keep my current number. 'No problem'. Done in 5 minutes over the phone. But it isn't offered anywhere online as an option.

So.. I just went from paying a tenner a month for 250 minutes/1gb data/unlimited texts; to paying a tenner a month for 2500 minutes/1gb data/unlimited texts.

For a iphone I paid £200 for 2.5 years ago. 

Interesting Pete, might be of use to me as I'm on an £8 virgin sim-only deal (for an iPhone I paid £300 for new over 3 years ago which still works perfectly).

[sxrxg]

Broke my screen (Samsung note II) for the second time... so I'm hunting a new phone. Spec-wise Oneplus X seems hard to beat for the price... €270 in France. Any experiences?

If you are looking for good specs for the price then the oneplus two at £249 is a good option. It is missing quick charging and NFC from the specs though as well as not having expandable storage. Community support is good though. 

Another option is the zte axon elite that can be bought for £200 off  eBay. This is the option I went for as it has dual sim (no more carrying a separate work phone!), expandable storage, NFC (android pay ready), quick charging, snapdragon 810 that was last year's flagship chipset, great front facing speaker, hi fi audio chip, great screen, dual camera setup. Downsides are the aesthetic isn't for everyone in champagne gold with fake leather (it doesn't look as bad in real life as the photos!), need to put on a different launcher as the default is horrid (in my opinion), also it is likely to get upgraded to android 6 however this isn't guaranteed, finally there is only a small developer community so not many alternative ROMs are available. Also one last thing is that the rear fingerprint scanner struggles after a days grit climbing! In retrospect a thumb based scanner is potentially a better option for a climber...

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Huawei working with Leica on flagship phone...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/06/huawei_p9_hands_on/
Not super cheap yet but one to keep an eye on.

[Fultonius]

Motorola Moto G "Gorilla Glass" is breakable (obviously everything is breakable, except maybe rubber - you can't really crack rubber!)

I bought a new screen of Ebay and tried ot fit it a few days ago - all was going well untill removing the earpiece speaker from the old phone  - I ended up splitting it in half instead. Only £2 for a new one...but it's still not arrived. 


.....................

And as if by magic the new speaker just dropped through the door... 

[Fultonius]

And now it's working again :-)

Sent from my XT1039 using Tapatalk

[Dave Mayes]

Just spotted this thread - I'm after a new android phone and wondered if anyone is more in the know than me about this sort of thing.

You read some awful things about the factory conditions making mobiles, so I want to choose a company that aren't complete bastards in the way they treat people. I'll happily take a worse front camera and a plastic case if it means the company that made it act with a bit of decency.

I've read (link at the bottom) that certain companies are better than others, human rights and pollution wise, and surely that must be true, but there's not many brands on that list. Also, I've no idea how reliable their data is, or where they got it from.

Fairphone 2 seems to be the obvious choice, but it's ~£400 which is too much for my student budget. Does anyone know other phones made by half decent companies?

I've seen Huawei Honor 7 looks ok at ~£250, and they're 2nd on that list.

Cheers!


http://www.thegoodshoppingguide.com/ethical-mobile-phones/

[slackline]

I want to choose a company that aren't complete bastards in the way they treat people.

https://www.fairphone.com/

[Dave Mayes]

I want to choose a company that aren't complete bastards in the way they treat people.

https://www.fairphone.com/

Like I said, they're just too much money at the moment. 525€ here in France, which is more than a months wages for me...

[slackline]

  I didn't read all your post.

I think you will struggle to find a budget price for an ethical phone, the two are to a large extent mutually exclusive.

[lagerstarfish]

I've texted Slackline to let him know that someone has hacked his account and is posting pointless ramblings

[tomtom]

I've texted Slackline to let him know that someone has hacked his account and is posting pointless ramblings

I think he's been watching that Two Ronnies mastermind sketch...

[Fiend]

I've texted Slackline to let him know that someone has hacked his account and is posting pointless ramblings

You could tell a difference??? 

[slackline]

Some more pointless rambling....

One approach you could take to being "ethical" is rather than plump for a brand new phone that is ethically sourced is to go for a second-hand, slightly older model.  That way you are helping to reduce waste and the need to extract rare elements or maltreat staff in the first place.

[creedence]

Even a 2nd hand Fairphone.....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fairphone-/131772531079?hash=item1eae414187:g:~I4AAOSwQjNW-VTh

[chris20]

Even a 2nd hand Fairphone.....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fairphone-/131772531079?hash=item1eae414187:g:~I4AAOSwQjNW-VTh

A friend of my bought the original Fairphone for the same ethical reasons but said it was terrible and wouldn't recommend it I think she went into details but I think I called her a hippy and stopped listening, she did mention something about not being able to get any reception when she was in France.  No idea what the new one is like though

[petejh]

Just spotted this thread - I'm after a new android phone and wondered if anyone is more in the know than me about this sort of thing.

You read some awful things about the factory conditions making mobiles, so I want to choose a company that aren't complete bastards in the way they treat people. I'll happily take a worse front camera and a plastic case if it means the company that made it act with a bit of decency.

I've read (link at the bottom) that certain companies are better than others, human rights and pollution wise, and surely that must be true, but there's not many brands on that list. Also, I've no idea how reliable their data is, or where they got it from.

Fairphone 2 seems to be the obvious choice, but it's ~£400 which is too much for my student budget. Does anyone know other phones made by half decent companies?

I've seen Huawei Honor 7 looks ok at ~£250, and they're 2nd on that list.

Cheers!


http://www.thegoodshoppingguide.com/ethical-mobile-phones/

Presumably the opposite version is a laissez-faire phone.

[tommytwotone]

Looking like Motorola have a new batch of the Moto range coming out - I'm in the market for a new one to replace my creaky Moto E and the G4 looks right up my street, decent spec for a mere £169.


Just need to find somewhere that actually sells one, though I might be a bit over-keen as release date says "early June".



http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/android-smartphones/motorola-moto-g4-moto-g4-plus-review-3640486/

[Grubes]

I have been using the 3rd gen for a year and its been great.
I bought mine off of motorolas website in a sale

[tommytwotone]

Looks like you can get one off there and that's probably the only place at the moment. There is the option of a bright pink back shell as well and I'm really tempted!


You can pick up the 3rd gen Gs for about a ton on Argos etc. Still a very decent phone but thought I'd treat myself and the camera setup etc looks a bit better on the 4th gen.

[Jaspersharpe]

You can pick up the 3rd gen Gs for about a ton on Argos etc.

Should have picked one up while you were rolling by Argos Extra like a pimp.